Defy Gravity

Dare to face the unknown.
Expect to find greatness within yourself.
Face your fears.
Your dreams do matter; chase them.

Go against the grain when you must.
Right the wrongs of this world.
Accept what you cannot change; learn from it and grow.
Vanquish self-doubt.
Impassion others through your words and deeds.
Try your best.
Your life, be it a wave or a ripple, makes all the difference in the world.

My Wandering Mind

Today my mind just left me,
simply jumped right out of my car!
At first I wasn't that worried;
in the evening it usually won't get too far.

But sometimes my mind can be tricky,
and when it's in that mode I never know
exactly what it is thinking
or in which direction it will flow.

So down the road it danced
between all of the rusty-gold trees...
It circled around the cows in the fields
and rolled in the country's fallen leaves.

Then it heartily inhaled the evening breeze
and giggled as it flew into the purple-red sky;
It tiptoed among the stars as they awoke one by one
and sang the sun a lullabye.

Then it sank back through my rooftop,
flopped into the passenger seat,
lay back and sighed reluctantly
then quietly fell asleep.

Nighttime Sky

Sometimes,
late at night,
while my wife sleeps softly in our warm bed,
I open the door quietly
and slip outside.

I stand still...
sometimes for a few moments,
sometimes for what seems forever,
staring into the impenetrable deep of the nighttime sky.

Stars glisten in that blackness.
How many dreams,
I wonder,
twinkle in the sky late at night?

After all,
wishes are made
upon the first star sighted,
and with so many people in the world
I figure
everyone must see them all at some point.

Or...
do stars,
like wishes,
shift,
dancing in
and out
of our sight,
sometimes twirling closer,
other times leaping away,
until we are so confused
that we no longer are certain
what star we are looking for?

Even if we did find the star
we thought we wished upon,
is it still the same star?
Or did it change
along with our perception?

Fickle creations,
stars are.

With thoughts such as this
I step back onto the porch,
touch my fingers to the cold door knob,
and bid my nighttime sky
good evening
until tommorrow
when,
perhaps,
my vision shall change.

The Great Awakening

I want to thank We the People and the Oath Keepers for inviting us to this event to share the poem "Our Voice" in front of a public audience this past Saturday. We had a great response to the poem and learned a great deal while attending this event about the issues facing our country today.

For those of you unaware, there is a strong undercurrent of concern from the American public about how our basic rights are being threatened, especially articles I and II of the Bill Of Rights. Monetary issues such as the Falling Standard of Living, Inflation, Auditing the Federal Reserve, Generational Debt, and the plight of our senior citizens and poor with their fixed incomes all came up. Health care issues, such as mandatory vaccinations and Socialized medicine were also discussed.

It was an all day event, and to be fair, I've only touched the tip of the iceberg here with my little blurb about it, though you can be certain that the political climate will certainly flavor some of the poetry you will find on this blog spot from time to time. For more information on these important issues, you can type into nyliberertycouncil.com for links to the groups we met at this event who have all of this important information contained in their websites.

Remember folks, poetry is not just about constructing beautiful images with words, nor is it simply another art form; it is, in essence, a way to communicate our thoughts, our feelings, and our experiences. Poetry relates to the world who we are and how we perceive life. In poetry, all things hold meaning.

- Daniel Raye

Freedom

For the briefest of moments
Remember America's past...
Every effort made on your behalf,
Every thought put into a future then unseen...
Do we honor our ancestors, and
Our children, by
Making the choices we now make?

Our Voice

In these times of need
We all must face a great truth:
Life is no respecter of ignorance
Or the innocence of youth.

Events in our time
will spin us around;
Yet in uncommon circumstances
we share common ground...

What happens to one
shall happen to all;
When Liberty cries out "HELP!"
Answer her call!

Hold fast to our ideals,
Show our might!
We have the power
to defend each American's rights!

If we are wronged then SPEAK OUT!
Let our voices be heard!
We cannot be ignored
if we shout Freedom's words!

Americans remember our voice!
Do not be afraid!
We are the land of the free
because we are brave!

Never allow others to take
your freedoms away!
Know that we, the people,
shall NOT FADE AWAY!

Never Forget

My body shakes.

Choking on the poisoned stench of oil
impenetrable smoke blinds me to what is happening.

Not that I really want to see.

It is enough to feel heat sear my skin,
My bones,
as i feel them flow from me
racing through my doors,
scuttling down my staircases,
dribbling through my wounds -

All those tiny voices
who give me such purpose -

RUN, LITTLE FRIENDS, RUN!
DESERT ME WHILE YOU CAN!
I SHALL HOLD UNTIL...

Oh no.
Not again.
Not her.

I stare at him,
to the North.
So strong,
so tall,
so proud...

Yet my sight canot be truth.

That did not just happen.
It is not happening now.

Blackish-grey smoke flows from the jet...
Oh, those poor passengers -

It is not,
cannot,
be pouring from him!

Not my brother!

Someone tell me that jet went down somewhere else!
Can anybody see what is really going on?!?

ANYBODY!?!

What is that sound?

Horror splits the sky,
Wailing,
whirring.

"South," I try to scream,
try to warn,
though no warning reaches her -
only swift, merciless carnage.

Silently I stand by my twin.
Each of us quake in anguish.
Each of us fight against
Flames...
Gravity...
Time.

I hear her cry from her wound.
Squealing, crunching,
I listen as she buckles inward,
collapsing into rubble.

Vibrations within me ripple...
my crumbling body melts within
as I strain against my fate.
I cannot fall,
will not fall,
must not fall...

"North," she whispers,
"it is time."

I sigh heavily, and then feel nothing at all.

And then...

Something changes within.

Clanking rings loud,
voices around us stir,
are we being rebuilt
the way we were?

Or better yet...

Taller we'll stand,
side by side,
above the Manhattan clouds,
to show the world our pride!

NO...

That is not our purpose now.
What then, can it be?
What are we being reshaped into?

Exhaustion takes us again.

Until...

With a shattering of glass we awaken once more!
Now we've an ocean beneath us, and the world to explore!
We're excited to sail the seas for the rest of our days
as we repeat to all the meaning of our phrase:

"Never Forget"
...Yet never regret
Events that occurred once ago;
Sometimes things take place
So that we learn to face
the lessons which life has to show.

3rd Annual Freedom Walk

We were honored to be invited to speak at the 3rd annual Freedom Walk hosted by the Capital Region Blue Star Mothers on 9/11/2009 which was held at the Crossings of Colonie. Among the speakers were local legislators, military personnel and a Red Cross volunteer that was involved in the after effects of the World Trade attacks in 2001. This is an annual walk held on the anniversary of the attacks in memory of those who lost their lives, and to honor those who defend our freedom.

We thank the Blue Star mothers for this opportunity.